O'Hara said the suspects are well-organized and likely from out of state. The criminals create nearly identical counterfeit copies then recruit people from area homeless shelters to cash the checks, offering them between $100 and $200.

"They remove themselves from the process,” O’Hara said. “They're not the ones that are on video cashing the check; it's not their name that's on the check. If the bank requires a thumbprint, it’s not their thumbprint that's on the check. So they've got someone else out there doing the real dirty work for them.”

Mikel now skips the mailbox and hand-delivers all outgoing checks to the local post office a block away.

"You can go home and sleep at night knowing that it is in their hands and not just in your mailbox on the street,” Mikel said.

The U.S. postal Inspection Service recommends people lock their mailbox, both at home and at their business location, or stop by the post office to directly drop off mail.